My Little Skrillmau5
by nyancat8815
Summary: Taking place in a more modern Equestria, in the heart of the city of New Canterlot, two ponies struggle through everyday conflicts and internal disagreements to find their true selfs in a world of mystery. I don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or Deadmau5/Skrillex.
1. Chapter 1: The Mark

It was the morning of just an average day for Sonny, a young unicorn colt from the land of Equestria. He woke up, yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his hooves. Pushing himself up in his bed, he slowly stepped onto the cold hard wood floor of his home in the city of New Canterlot.

Outside, Sonny could see the twinkling lights of the casinos between the high rise apartments in the heart of New Canterlot. He rarely got a chance to sleep in because of the noise and light coming through the walls of his house, so he decided to just embrace it and get up early every morning.

Sleepily trotting to the bathroom, he sighed when he saw his mane was in a huge mess on the top of his head. Sonny hated the fact that he got bed head mane almost every morning, mainly because it was almost impossible to un-knot and detangle.

Sonny picked up a small brush that lay on the counter next to the sink, and slowly started to comb through the rat's nest mane.

"Stupid mane." He mumbled, holding the brush with his teeth. This was the only way for him to hold it, unfortunately, because he hasn't gained the ability to perform magic yet and use his magic to levitate it.

_"Why can't I do magic like all the other unicorns?" Sonny asked his mother._

_ "You will someday," She replied, "all unicorns get their magic sometime in their teen years."_

_ Sonny rolled his eyes, "but I want to be able to perform spells and stuff now!"_

_ "Just be patient. It will come." His mother said, and Sonny walked out of the room._

Sonny recalled the talk with his mother about when he would be able to perform magic as he brushed through his mane, finally making it look more decent. After, he looked to his left to see his black-rimmed glasses sitting there on the counter.

_Maybe I can make them come to me, _he thought, as he tried to perform telekinesis. He squinted his eyes and tried to use magic, but nothing was happening. Sonny sighed and picked them up with his teeth and flipped them on his face, another failed magic attempt.

Sonny trotted down the stairs and into the kitchen, where his mother was making breakfast.

"Mom, I'm going to school." He said, and turned to leave.

"Wait," his mother called, "aren't you going to have breakfast?"

Sonny shook his head and trotted to the door, "Can't. I'm gonna get to school early today."

"Why the rush?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sonny smiled, "There's talent show tryouts today. I have to make sure my routine is perfect so I can get in it."

"Good luck with that!" She said, and returned to her baking. Sonny just shrugged and walked out the door, knowing that she probably wouldn't think much of it.

The entire way to school, Sonny went over his routine in his head. He would sing a song for the school to a piece of music he created on his own. Nobody had ever heard him sing before, and now was his chance to show everyone his talent.

Once he got to the familiar but huge campus, he headed straight for the tryouts room. _I hope I don't fail, _he thought, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

Inside, three older ponies stood in front of an open space, and other ponies about his age were standing off to the side. Sonny walked up to the three ponies standing and handed them a small disc.

"Trying out?" The one in the middle asked, who was the school principal. Sonny nodded.

"That's my music. I'm going to sing to a song I created."

The principal nodded and motioned with her hoof to the empty space for him to stand. The ponies off to the side were whispering and looking at him, but Sonny didn't care. He had to get into this show.

"You can start when ready." The principal said, and put the disc in an outdated stereo and hit play. Sonny closed his eyes, waited for the music to start, then began to sing.

The lyrics flowed from his vocal cords and into the atmosphere, combining with the melody from the old stereo. He didn't dare make eye contact with anyone in the room, and just focused on hitting the correct notes. After the music stopped, he dropped his head down before looking at the ponies judging his performance.

First, Sonny was concerned. All of them were staring at him, wide-eyed and not blinking. He knew they were judging him. Some of their jaws even dropped. Then, some pony in the corner, began to clap his hooves together, and everyone else joined in unison.

Sonny's muscles in his legs relaxed, and he stood upright again. He stared at the judges, waiting their answer on how he did.

"Sonny…that was some performance…" The principal said, still gawking at him, "I don't think I've ever heard a more brilliant voice from a student." She used her unicorn telekinesis to levitate a pen and scribbled Sonny's name down on a piece of paper, "You, sir, have a spot in the talent show tonight."

"Th-thank you!" He stammered, and trotted quickly out of the room. Once he got into the hall, Sonny jumped with joy and pretty much galloped to his first class. The whole day was a daze to Sonny since he was so excited to be able to perform for everyone.

The bell rang throughout the campus, and Sonny dashed through the crowds of fillies and colts, just to get home and tell his mother the good news. When he got to his house, he leaped over the gate without even opening it and kicked open the door to get inside.

"I did it!" He yelled into the house, bouncing up and down on the wood floor.

"Did what?" His mother said, running into the room.

"I made it into the talent show tonight!" Sonny said and had a smile on his little pony face you could see from a mile. His long black mane and tail flew as he jumped and a tiny spark of red fireworks came from his unicorn horn.

"That's great!" His mother smiled down at him, but Sonny couldn't sit still. Of course, he was in the fifth grade, and not many young colts could when something exciting was about to happen.

That night, Sonny stood backstage with the rest of the fillies and colts who made it in the talent show. He paced back and fourth, his hooves clicking on the wood floor of the backstage room. He fumbled with his costume: an all black suit with several dark red stripes down the side, and cut off at the bottom for his hooves and a circle cut out on the back for his tail.

He impatiently tapped his hoof and waited for his name to be called. One by one, ponies were called out to perform. A group of fillies came off the stage, and before he knew it, they called Sonny's name.

"Sonny, you're up next."

Sonny swallowed hard and made his way onto the stage, where a huge crowd of people were gathered below. He tried to stand up tall and make his way to the center of the stage, and waited for his music to play.

The lights dimmed, and a single spotlight focused on the little grey unicorn with jet black hair and the square-framed glasses. Sonny took a deep breath, and the pounding music he created on his computer began to play.

It was so much louder than on the speakers of that old stereo this morning, or on the computer speakers after school, but on the school sound system, the whole gym shook. He opened his dark brown eyes just as his part to sing started.

Once he parted his lips, the sounds rang out in sync with the loud music. It was his creation, his music, and his show. He tapped his hoof in rhythm with the music, and sang in tune with every beat. All of a sudden, the song was over, and the room went dark. Sonny put his head down as he waited for the house lights to return as beads of sweat formed and rolled down from his forehead to the collar of his costume.

The lights returned, and the whole gym broke out in hoots and hollers as ponies clapped their hooves together in applause. Sonny smiled as he stood up and bowed to the crowed. In the back, he saw his mother smiling and waving at him.

Sonny beamed, and waved to his mother before trotting off the stage. When he got to the back room, everyone was bro-hoofing him and patting him on the back. Sonny just smiled and thanked everyone for the compliments.

"You did so well!" His mother squealed as she ran into the back room and hugged her son.

"Thank you!" Sonny smiled and hugged her back as they trotted into the cool night air. Everyone was in awe with his performance, and Sonny felt very proud of himself.

When they got back to their house, Sonny yawned.

"I'm gonna go upstairs and go to bed. I'm really tired from the show." Sonny said and began walking up the stairs.

"Alright. Goodnight." His mom said as Sonny disappeared over the top of the stairs. He walked to his room and unzipped his costume and stepped out of it, his legs sweaty from the shiny material. Just as Sonny was walking by the mirror he noticed something different.

Raising an eyebrow, Sonny took a few steps back so he could see himself. He examined his face, but it looked the same as it usually does. His mane was the same, mostly, except when he turned to check his tail he saw what caught his eye.

Right there, by his tail on the center of his flank, was what appeared to be a cutie mark. _Could I be hallucinating? _Sonny turned his body so he could see it with his own eyes. It appeared to be a red I and two L's.

"Wh-what?" Sonny began to panic; ponies weren't supposed to get their cutie mark until at least sixth or seventh grade, and he was only in fifth. He rubbed at the mark to see if it was just a trick of the light, or a dirt stain, but it was certainly a cutie mark.

"H-how did I…" Sonny wondered out loud as he stared at the new mark on his flank. He would be the first colt in the whole fifth grade that has gotten his cutie mark. How would the other ponies react when he walked on campus with it the next day?

_I can't tell mom…she will ask too many questions, _Sonny decided as he tried to figure out what had just happened to him. _I'm just gonna go to sleep, and deal with this in the morning, _he told himself, before taking off his glasses and jumping in bed. The whole night, Sonny tossed and turned as he tried to find sleep. For some reason, he missed being a blank flank, and he didn't know why.


	2. Chapter 2: Missing Pieces

The next morning, Sonny woke up and almost completely forgot he had recently obtained his cutie mark. He still didn't really fully understand it, or what "ILL" meant. Did it mean he was ill? Sonny gave up and decided he should find a way to cover it up so his mother didn't see.

He decided to go with an oversized, marshmallow, _Shrek_-green jacket that covered his back and flank all the way to his tail. It was hideously ugly, but Sonny had to wear it. Putting on the ugly thing was horrible, and he knew his mother would question why he would wear it to school.

Slowly creeping down the stairs, Sonny tried to sneak out of the house without his mother seeing him, but of course that would be impossible.

"Good morning Sonny!" His mother said and walked over to where he was. Sonny pulled the jacket over his flank and tried not to reveal his cutie mark at all.

"Oh…um…good morning?" Sonny did a bad poker face, and his mother raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you wear that hideous jacket to school?" She peered around him, searching for an answer.

Sonny gulped, "Um…its Ugly Sweater Day…aha…pony who wears the ugliest jacket gets a…uh…prize!" His eyes flickered from side to side as his mother turned around slowly.

"Well…uh…I hope you win." She said, and headed back into the kitchen, rolling her eyes as she went. Sonny wiped the sweat off his forehead and dashed out the door. Once he got past the gate, he stashed the jacket under a few bushes before continuing on to school.

When Sonny walked through the doors of his first class, math, nobody noticed him at first. Suddenly, one by one, heads turned, and ponies motioned to his flank with their hooves and whispered. Sonny blushed, and walked quietly to his seat, but before he got there, someone broke the silence.

"Look everybody! Skrilly got his cutie mark!"

Sonny's head perked up and his eyes widened as he looked in the direction of the voice. The room burst out in laughter, as all the rest of the ponies in the room haven't gotten their marks yet.

Well, all except one.

His name is David Guetta, and he was always trying to pick fun at the other fifth graders because he was in eighth grade. Guetta's cutie mark was just a plain vinyl disc, but he acted like he actually had real talent. He was so arrogant, and saw everyone else as a different level of society from him, even though he had been held back in math at least four times since he was still at fifth grade level. And he was the one who broke the silence.

Sonny looked down at his hooves as he continued to walk to his seat, his face reddening every second. Everyone was laughing at him, and looking at his flank. Sonny hated Guetta, just looking at that smile plastered on Guetta's face made Sonny angry, but there was nothing he could do. Slowly, he felt his eyes begin to sting, and a tear roll down his cheek as the ponies picked fun at him.

"Everyone quiet down!" The teacher yelled, "Now, someone _please _explain to me what's going on?"

_Oh God no! _Sonny thought, and he slammed his head down on the table, feeling his glasses push into his nose and his mane fly to the side. Another tear was threatening to roll down his face, but he forced his eye to stay closed.

"Sonny got his cutie mark!" A little filly in the front of the room said, and all the other ponies giggled. _I just want to die! _Sonny thought, and didn't dare to look up.

The teacher shook her head, "Everyone knows that getting your cutie mark is a natural stage in a pony's life. Some ponies get them earlier than others, and Sonny seems to be one of those ponies." Sonny buried his face in his hooves and hoped nobody was looking at him, but of course, he knew they were.

"But it's _weird_!" Another colt said, "Nobody else in the entire fifth grade has their mark yet." Everyone agreed and giggled, still fascinated with Sonny's new mark.

"All fillies and colts will get one eventually, but it's best not to pick fun at those who get theirs early." The teacher said, "Now let's get back to math, shall we?"

Sonny didn't look up the entire math class. When the bell rang, he darted out the door before anyone else could stand up. _I can't face my classmates again, _he thought, as he ran all the way to the playground.

Once Sonny got far enough away, he sat down on the grass and began to sob. Tears rolled down his reddened cheeks and landed on the soft green grass. Nobody was around to hear him cry, nobody would have to see him like this.

Suddenly, Sonny thought he heard a bell ring in the distance. _Seventh and eighth grade break, _he thought, but didn't feel like he could get up. Every time he tried to stop crying, more tears just came.

"Hey…kid."

A gentle voice came from behind him. Sonny sat up and wiped tears from his eyes before turning around.

"Are you okay?"

Behind him stood a colt who looked several years older than Sonny. He had a slightly worried look on his face, and his green eyes were searching Sonny's face for an answer. He had a short, choppy, brown mane and tail, and his fur was a light ash brown.

Sonny sniffled, "What do you want? I bet you're just going to make fun of me like the rest of my class."

The stranger looked somewhat alarmed, and took a slight step back, revealing wings on his sides, "Wh-what? Dude, I was just asking if you were alright. I wasn't going to make fun of you."

"R-really?"

"Yes."

The stranger sat down next to Sonny, "My name's Joel. What's yours?"

Sonny gulped, "It's Sonny."

"You know, you never answered my question. Are you okay?" Joel asked, and started at Sonny.

Sonny shook his head and said, "Do I look like I'm okay?"

Joel looked down and said, "Well, not exactly. You were bawling your eyes out when I found you sitting here."

Sonny shrugged and said, "You would be too."

"What happened?"

Sonny rolled his eyes and looked down.

"Dude, really, what happened?" Joel looked intently at Sonny, trying to pry an answer out of him.

Sonny stood up and motioned to his flank, "_This _happened." He sat back down and covered up his mark with his tail so Joel didn't have to see.

"What? Your mark?" Joel seemed surprised, "Shouldn't you be jumping up and down with excitement because of it?" Sonny shook his head.

"That's easy for you to say. You probably got yours at a decent age, unlike me. I'm the only fifth grader _with _a mark."

Joel just shook his head and stood up. Sonny looked at his flank and was shocked to see nothing there but fur. No design or symbol, just nothing.

"_Easy for you to say? _I'm the only seventh grader _without _one." Joel sighed as he sat back down, "I've been laughed at by my class because everyone else has one, except me." Sonny took a moment to let Joel's words sink in.

"I…haven't told my mom yet. I don't think I can." Sonny said, and avoided eye contact with Joel.

"How long have you had it?"

"Since yesterday," Sonny sighed, "at the talent show."

Joel's ears perked up and he turned to Sonny, "Dude, were you that one kid with that amazing voice and sick music?"

Sonny blushed, "Yeah, that's me."

"That was awesome! Did you come up with that all on your own?"

"Yeah….I did." Sonny shrugged and stood up, "You know, I'm really not even sure what this mark even means." He turned his head to examine the mark, trying to piece together what it meant. Suddenly, the bell rang.

"Oh God…I forgot. I'm not even supposed to be here right now." Sonny turned to Joel, "I better get back to class before I get detention."

Joel nodded, "Hey, I know you're a fifth grader and all, but, we should hang out sometime." Sonny smiled at the older pegasus colt before dashing back to the classrooms. For those few moments, he almost forgot about the teasing and laughter by his peers in math.

Sonny picked up his four hooves and ran as fast as he could across the field, not even looking up. Suddenly, he felt himself crash into something. Sonny hit his head, and fell backwards on the grass, his glasses flying off to the side. A shadowy figure towered above him.

"What are you doing out here, you fag?"

Sonny reached for his glasses and put them on. His vision cleared and he saw who was standing above him. It was Guetta, back to pick more fun at him.

"What do you want?" Sonny said, his voice slightly trembling as he stood up, facing Guetta. Guetta was almost a foot taller than him, and could probably beat him up if he wanted to. Sonny narrowed his eyes and tried to act unafraid toward the arrogant eighth grader.

"You think you're all that since you got your mark, huh?" Guetta sneered, and flicked his dirty blond tail. He reached his hoof back and polished his lame disc cutie mark, "Well mine's better than yours! What does yours even mean? Ill?"

Sonny felt his face turning red, "What's yours mean? That your talent is copying music off of other discs and calling it your own? Is that what yours means?"

Guetta took a step back, shocked by the little unicorn's comeback. Then, his face turned to pure rage, "I…uh…everyone knows I'm better than you!"

Sonny rolled his eyes, "That's a really lame comeback, Guetta." Guetta shifted his eyes from side to side as the pondered what to say back to Sonny. Instead of talking, though, Guetta reared up and pushed Sonny down on his back with his hooves.

"Argh!" Sonny called out as he fell down, his chest in searing pain from being hit. Anger flooded through his veins, and he felt a great surge of power building inside him. He bounced back up onto his hooves, and without even thinking, he aimed his unicorn horn at Guetta.

"Pssh! Are you _actually _going to try and use your gay little magic on me? I doubt you even have your magic yet." Guetta just laughed and stomped the ground as Sonny just got angrier each second. Something was coming, and Sonny could just feel it.

It happened in an instant. A beam of red light shot from his unicorn horn and hit Guetta square in the leg, causing him to scream. The power emitting from Sonny's unicorn horn was so strong, he lost his balance and fell again, losing the glow. When he looked up again, Guetta was curled up in a ball in the grass, sobbing and holding his leg.

Sonny smiled as Guetta stood on his other three legs and wipe tears from his eyes with his hoof, but Sonny's smile faded when he saw a teacher trotting their way.

"Young colt, you know that use of magic on school grounds in forbidden." She clicked her hoof on the ground as Sonny silently nodded. She then said, "Why are you not in class? This is seventh and eighth grade break. You're getting detention for harassing another student, cutting class, and for using magic on campus."

Sonny rolled his eyes. The teacher scowled and shouted for him to run back to class, and to remain there through his lunch break as well.

"Stupid freaking school." Sonny mumbled as he kicked open the door and trotted to a desk in the back. He slumped in his seat and mindlessly tapped his two front hooves together. Then, he felt a tap on his shoulder from behind him. Sonny turned to see Joel sitting there, his wings unfolded and hanging lazily at his sides.

"I saw that fight between you and Guetta." Joel said, and smiled, "Dude, I wish I could perform magic like that. My retarded wings hardly even work to make me fly." He gave his wings a flap and tucked them behind his shoulder blades again.

"Wait," Sonny raised an eyebrow, "I _performed _magic?"

"Yes! I've never seen any magic come from a little kid before."

Sonny hated being called a _little _kid, especially since he was shorter than the other colts of his age, and that Joel was hardly more than a few years older than him. He reached a hoof up and touched his unicorn horn.

Without thinking, Sonny looked over to a book on his desk and concentrated on it. Within a second, he felt energy emitting from his forehead between his ears reaching down to the book. A spark flew from his horn, then a radiating red glow began to form around the book. Beads of swear formed on his forehead and ran down Sonny's face as he strained to lift the book. Once it was airborne, he opened his eyes to see it.

His magic was a red glow that almost seemed to shimmer as it surrounded the book. Sonny's head felt hot, and he looked over to the mirror on his left to see that his unicorn horn was emitting the same red glow. Suddenly, he recalled another conversation with his mother about magic…

_"Most unicorns will posses a blue or yellow glow, but some posses a greater power that could come in any color of the rainbow." She explained, "My magic is just a blue glow, but yours could turn out to be anything. Sometimes, even a unicorn's magic is part of their special talent."_

Sonny's mind raced back to the present, as the teacher was giving him a cold stare from the front of the classroom. _Ugh, I forgot about the no-magic-allowed rule, _Sonny relaxed and the book landed with the thud on the table.

He turned around to see Joel nodding and saying, "You have some magic talent, eh?"

Sonny shrugged, "I'm not sure, but do you think it might've contributed to my mark?" Joel had a helpless expression, so Sonny changed the subject, "Why are you in detention anyways?"

"I dunno. Mr. Freaking What's-his-face teacher caught me trying to fly over the fence and escape. I've done it before, I guess I was just not being sly enough."

Sonny looked at him and said, "Have you ever wondered what your special talent is? You know, since you haven't gotten your mark yet?"

Joel sighed and said, "I've just kind of given up. Ever since the rest of my class got theirs, I had been trying everything in my power to discover my talent, but everything was useless. The only thing I do now to keep myself going is playing the piano."

"Do you think that could be…" Sonny started, but Joel cut him off.

"No! I'm not a pro or anything at it, it's just something to pass the time." Joel looked the opposite direction from the unicorn, but he could almost feel Sonny's gaze still on him.

"I want to hear a song you can play."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Joel, please? I'm trying to help you out."

"Sonny, I said no. You're just a little pony with a big imagination. I can figure it out on my own. Now go play with your _Legos_ or whatever the heck you do." Joel didn't look up at Sonny again. Angry, Sonny stood up and walked to the other side of the room and found a different seat behind an older filly with a dark mane that seemed to be in Joel's grade.


	3. Chapter 3: The She-Unicorn

Sonny crossed his hooves over his chest and peered at the pony in front of him. Her dark brown mane was highlighted with a lighter brown, and it was pinned up with a rubber band into a messy bun. She had a small hoop in the cartilage of her left ear.

The more he looked at her, the more Sonny wanted to talk to her. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Joel slouched in his seat, staring at the clock. Sonny sighed, and flicked a pen with his nose so it rolled across the desk, expressing his boredom.

Suddenly, the pony in front of him jumped up from her seat and walked to the front of the room. She placed a paper on the teacher's desk, and then turned around, and Sonny got a full view of her face.

She had brown eyes, and her hair was cut into choppy bangs covering her eyes a bit, and a streak of blond was dyed into them. In the center of her forehead was a unicorn horn.

"Hey…uh…" Sonny started, trying to make conversation with her. She turned, and looked at Sonny.

"Yeah, kid?"

"I…um…well…" Sonny tried to speak, but couldn't find something logical to say, so he reached his hoof out and said, "Hi I'm Sonny!" in the most cheerful voice he could.

The unicorn filly looked a little startled, but her eyebrow lowered as she reached out to shake his hoof with her own.

"Sofi." She replied, and sat down in her seat in front of Sonny. Sofi looked a little freaked out that a fifth grader was talking to her, but Sonny didn't stop talking.

"So…uh…why are you in detention?" Sonny asked, looking down at his hooves, trying not to be weird. _She seems like she would be a cool pony to get to know, _he thought, as Sofi rolled her eyes.

"Look, kid, I know you're bored out of your mind in here, but I have to get back to what I'm working on." She began to turn in her seat, but Sonny stopped her.

"Okay, I have something to ask you."

Soft raised an eyebrow again, and Sonny noticed she had a nose piercing. A small silver hoop that glinted off her nose when the overhead light it right.

"What is it?"

Sonny looked at her and said, "I need you to help me help my friend."

Her eyes went cross as she tilted her head to the side, trying to understand what Sonny meant, "Wait…you want me to help _you _help your _friend_?"

Sonny nodded and motioned over to Joel, who had his head down on his desk. Sofi laughed and covered her mouth with her hoof.

"What's so funny?" Sonny asked, eyeing her.

"Dude," She said, "You mean _Joel_?!"

"You already know him?"

She rolled her eyes again and said, "I've known him since sixth grade. The first time we talked was when I saw him sitting out behind the buildings, slumped on his blank little flank." Sonny narrowed his eyes, knowing that both he and Joel hated being joked at.

"I was the only one who wasn't teasing him about still having a blank flank. Everyone else got theirs in sixth grade, or in the summer between sixth and seventh. Including me." She pointed to the microphone mark on her flank, "Turns out I had a talent for singing. I never would've found out unless I hadn't sung in a school play."

Sonny sighed, knowing she would be hard to get through to, "Look, do you want to help me or not?"

Sofi kicked back in her seat and flicked her tail to the side, "I don't think there's anything I can do. Plus, you're a little pony just trying to fit in with all the older kids, so you're just wasting your time."

_Why do they keep calling me a little pony? _Sonny growled and said, "I have to get him to play the piano."

"What?"

"Joel said that's the only thing he does now to pass the time, so I have to get him to play piano. If we could only…"

"Kid, you're wasting your time. He won't listen."

"If we could just…"

Sofi sighed and said, "There's no way he'll listen to a little fifth grader, just saying."

"Just hear me out!" Sonny shouted, and Sofi finally turned her attention to him, "We need to make a song."

Sofi snorted and said, "That's the most retarded idea I've heard."

"But…it could work. He could play piano, you could sing, and I could make the rest of the music. Then, we could send it to a radio station and…"

Sofi put her hoof on his mouth, shutting him up, "I'm not doing it."

Sonny pulled his face away from her hoof, "But you have to! Your talent is singing!"

Sofi sighed, "Alright! I'll do the freaking song, but how will we get Joel to join?"

An evil grin spread across Sonny's face, "I have an idea."

"Oh god." Sofi said as she got up, "Well, I have to go. See you later, kid?"

"Yay!" Sonny stood up and hugged her, "You're the best pony ever for helping me!"

Sofi stood still as Sonny clung to her, then after a few seconds tried to get him off, "Um…yeah…thanks? Can you, like, get off me, please?" After a few seconds, Sofi practically shoved him off, "Bye, kid." She said as she trotted out the door.

A few hours later, school got out. Sonny couldn't wait to talk to Joel about his idea. He was sure it was going to work, Joel just had to agree.

"Hi Joel!" Sonny ran up to Joel's side as he walked off the campus.

"I'm guessing nobody else mentioned your mark?"

Sonny frowned and said, "Well, a few ponies did, but they were far more interested on how I was able to make Guetta cry." Joel half-smiled, but didn't look at Sonny.

"So, I have an idea about how you can get your mark…" Sonny began, and Joel looked at him.

"Forget it." Joel sped up, walking at a brisker pace than Sonny, so he had to speed up.

"But I really think this will work!"

"I don't care." Joel began to run, trying to get Sonny to go away or at least shut up. Sweat started to form on Sonny's forehead as he used all his little pony leg power to keep up.

"Please. Just. Hear. Me. Out." Sonny said, squeezing words between gasps of air. Suddenly, Joel came to a halt and turned to an exhausted Sonny. Sonny knew he was going to fly away next to not wear out his legs, but Sonny had a plan.

"Sonny, freaking leave me alone." Joel turned his back to Sonny and began to flap his wings, lifting him an inch off the ground.

"But…" Sonny's eyes became big and innocent looking behind his black glasses, "I-I'm just trying to help…"

"I said: Go. Away. And. Leave. Me. Alone." Joel's tone became strong and strict as he began to fly away, leaving Sonny behind him. Guilt began to filter through his veins when he heard a soft crying sound coming from the ground below. He tried to stay strong and keep going, like he would in most other situations, but for some reason he felt really guilty about making the little unicorn cry.

"Damn it, Sonny." He muttered as he turned and landed on the ground in front of Sonny. He was sitting on the ground, his head down, and you could hear his soft cry. Joel reached out and put a hoof on Sonny's shoulder.

"Hey, kid…" He said in a soft voice, "I-I'm sorry for making you upset." Sonny stopped his fake crying and a smile began to play at the corners of his lips.

"I guess…I could make a song with you guys…" Joel shrugged as Sonny bounced back to his normal happy self, turning to look Joel in the eye, the biggest smile spread across his face.

"You will?!" Sonny pressed himself on his hind legs and held himself steady with his two front hooves resting on Joel's shoulders so he could look him in the eye.

Joel sighed, "I guess so."


	4. Chapter 4: His Talent

I know Sofi doen't really sing Raise Your Weapon, but let's just pretend she does :)

Sofi was able to convince the two of them to make the song at her house. That weekend, Sonny and Joel trotted alongside the side road to get to Sofi's house.

"This is gonna be awesome!" Sonny practically was jumping up and down the entire way. Joel sighed, knowing he would never shut up until they got there.

"Yes, Sonny. You've said that about a million times already today."

"I know, but I've never actually made a song with anyone else before. Usually it's just me." He continued to bouncy-trot all the way until they stopped at Sofi's doorstep, when he finally gave it a rest.

Joel tapped the doorbell with his wing, and he could hear the ring going throughout the house. Finally, he heard hoof steps from inside, and Sofi opened the door.

"Hey guys!" She smiled, "Ready to make the song?" Joel nodded and picked up his keyboard piano. Sofi led them inside and through several hallways before pausing at a door.

"This is where I practice singing. I tried to clean it up a little before you guys got here, but it's still a little messy. We can use it to make our song." She used her purple magic glow to open the door, and flicked on the light with her hoof.

Inside were an expensive-looking sound system, two microphones, a laptop, and a keyboard stand. Old papers with song lyrics and broken drumsticks were scattered around in the corners, collecting dust and dirt.

Joel placed his keyboard on the stand as Sonny opened the laptop. The machine whirred to life as a password screen popped up. Sofi used her magic to punch in the code and get the system working.

"I wrote down some lyrics for the song. I hope they don't suck too much." Sofi rifled through papers with her hooves until she found the right one.

"I'm ready to play." Joel said, and stood by his piano.

"Wait." Sonny ran up and grabbed a second microphone, "Can I be your backup singer?" Sofi glanced at Joel, and he shrugged. She sighed.

"I guess so, but you're still putting this thing altogether, got it?" Sonny smiled and nodded as he took a spot next to Sofi.

Sofi cleared her throat as she threw Joel a paper with the notes for him to play. He nodded as his hooves began to tap on the keyboard.

"Ready?" She asked, and they both nodded. As the music flowed from the keyboard, Sofi began to sing.

_Rippin' my heart was so easy, so easy,_

_Launch your assault now, take it easy,_

_Raise your weapon, raise your weapon,_

_One word, and it's over,_

_Rippin' through like a missile,_

_Rippin' through my heart, rob me of this love,_

_Raise your weapon, Raise your weapon,_

_And it's over_

_Love your ego, you won't feel a thing,_

_Always number one,_

_The pen with a bent wrist crooked king,_

_Sign away our peace, for your war_

_One word, and it's over_

_Dropping your bombs now, on all we've built,_

_How does it feel now? To watch it burn, burn, burn,_

_Raise your weapons, raise your weapons,_

_And it's over._

Sonny didn't sing. He couldn't sing. She was so talented at it, he didn't want to interfere. As the song died down, their eyes were plastered on Sofi.

"What did I do…" She started, but Joel interrupted.

"That was amazing, Sofi! I knew your talent was singing, but I didn't know you were _that_ good!" Joel beamed as Sofi's face reddened. Sonny put down the microphone he didn't use and went over to the laptop. After a few clicks, their new song began to play from the speakers.

"You were recording?!" Joel snapped, but Sofi hissed at him to shut up. Sonny used his red magic to add different effects into the song. He became so focused in his work, making music.

"Ugh, something isn't right!" Sonny fussed as he worked with different keys, adjusting and adding things to the song. After a second, Joel stepped up.

"Can I try?" Joel asked, a pleasant smile on his face. Sonny pushed the laptop over and Joel messed with the sounds a bit more. "There!" He said, and played the whole thing. It sounded complete now that Joel had finished the job.

"It sounds great! Good job, guys." Sofi pulled them in for a group hug, "We should call this into a radio station or something!"

Sonny pushed her away and shouted, "Hey! That was my idea you…" But Sofi only smiled and pulled him back into the hug. After, Joel and Sonny looked up radio stations to call.

"We could call this one!" Joel pointed to a number in a book with his wing. He began to dial the number, but Sonny stopped him.

"Wait! We have to pick out a name first."

Joel pondered this for a moment, "How about _Raise Your Weapon_?" Sonny approved by nodding, and Joel thought for another second, "We also have to have an artist name."

Sonny thought and said, "Well? What can we say?"

Joel rolled his eyes. He thought back to when he was in fifth grade…

_Joel opened the side of his computer, looking for an answer to why it wasn't working properly. He stepped back in shock when a dead mouse rolled out of the open panel._

_ "What the heck?!" He stared at the mouse as his old friend Tommy trotted into the room. Tommy was in eighth grade at this time._

_ "What's going on?"_

_ "I found a freaking dead mouse in my computer!" Joel said, and tried picking it up with one of his tiny wings. Tommy laughed as he walked out, leaving Joel to stare at the little mouse._

_ The next day at school, Joel and Tommy were walking when a colt from across the way yelled, "Hey dead mouse kid!" Joel shot Tommy a look, and Tommy just shrugged as they continued to walk._

_ That day, everyone in his class knew about the dead mouse. They thought it was a pretty funny story, all because Tommy told a few of his eighth grade buddies about it. It was nothing for Joel to be ashamed of, and he sometimes even took some pride for it._

_ "You know, that would be a cool name for something someday." One colt in his class told Joel._

_ "Really?"_

_ "Yeah, like, a musician or something. 'Dead mouse', performing live!" They joked about it for awhile until everyone forgot, and since then it had kind of slipped Joel's mind._

"I know what I can put for my name," Joel said, "Dead mouse."

Sonny looked at him and asked him what it meant. Joel explained the story, and Sonny asked, "Who was Tommy?"

"Oh some kid I used to hang out with when I was your age. He's in high school now." Joel wrote 'dead mouse' on a piece of paper, but stared at it for awhile.

"Your name needs something. It's too…plain." That was the only word Sonny could come up with. He trotted over to Joel and took the pencil and scratched out the 'mouse' part, replacing it with a 'mau5'.

"Deadmau5, eh?" Joel said, "I like it. It fits me, now we just have to come up with a name for you."

Sonny looked down at his hooves, and remembered the past…

_"Look it's Skrilly!" Guetta had yelled on the walk home. Sonny was only in fourth grade, and Guetta was in seventh grade. 'Skrilly' was a dumb nickname Guetta came up with after the teacher had called Sonny that by accident. Now, it had just become an annoying name Guetta used instead of Sonny._

He remembered to just a week ago…

_"Look everybody! Skrilly got his cutie mark!" _

Sonny looked down. He could still hear Guetta's sneering voice in the back of his head, but he shook it off.

"Skrilly."

Joel looked at him, "What?"

"You know, that name Guetta picked up to call me in fourth grade." Sonny felt like a loser, using this name that had been used in insults so many times.

Joel thought a moment and said, "What about 'Skrillex'? I think it sounds a lot better than 'Skrilly', but what do you think?"

Sonny nodded and said, "I like it. I think it's really cool!" He smiled up at Joel as they called the radio station. An obviously high guy picked up.

"Hey…thanks for calling One Oh Seven Nine…what can I do for ya'?"

Joel gave Sonny an uneasy glance, but said, "We would like you to play a song for us." He rapidly clicked on the computer to upload the song online.

"Sure…kid…what's it called?"

"Uh…" Joel made sure the song had uploaded before he replied with, "_Raise Your Weapon _by Deadmau5 and Skrillex…"

The DJ on the other line tapped away on his computer, looking for the song, "Ah…I found it. It seems to be a kind of new song…ya' know…but whatever…." Sonny flipped on the nearest radio and turned it to 107.9, waiting for their song to play.

"Thanks…?" Joel said into the phone, and pulled it away from his ear, "Let's just wait for our song to play." They sat by the table for five minutes, then ten, fifteen, and an hour soon went by without their song playing. Sofi came back into the room with cupcakes and hot chocolate.

"Has our song played yet?" She asked, but she sighed when Joel shook his head. They silently ate cupcakes as they waited for their song to play. Suddenly, they heard the DJ's voice come over the radio.

"We have a…uh…new request from some guy. This is _Raise Your Weapon _by Deadmau5 and Skrillex…I hope you enjoy." His voice shut off and their song came through the radio.

"Wait…you _forgot _to mention me?!" Sofi stomped her hoof in annoyance, but turned and left the room after she got no response. Joel and Sonny were so mesmerized with their own work as it filtered through the radio's speakers and into the room.

After the song ended, Joel looked at his flank, expecting something to be there, but it was still blank as always.

"Ugh! I _told _you it would fail!" Joel stood up and stared at his hooves, a stinging under his eyelids. _I'll probably never get my mark… _he thought as he bit his lip, forcing back tears. Sonny reached up and put a hoof on his shoulder.

"It's gonna be ok. It will come." Sonny tried to make Joel feel better, but he knew it was going to have no effect. Sofi came trotting into the room.

"Hey guys! We just got an invitation to come to a costume party tonight! I know it's short notice, but some other ponies couldn't go so they gave them to us instead."

"I can't wait! Let's go!" Sonny tried to be perky, maybe that would make Joel feel better, but it had no effect on his mood at all. Joel just walked forward until they got outside.

"I dunno Sonny. I don't really feel up for a party tonight."

"Please Joel! I'll help you find a costume!" He smiled at Joel, who sighed and said that he would attend. Sonny followed him back to Joel's house, where they went rifling through drawers and boxes until Sonny found something that looked like a mouse head.

"What's this?"

"Oh…that." Joel picked it up, "After I found the dead mouse in my computer, and everyone called me 'the dead mouse kid', I decided to make a dead mouse head of my own, you know, since everyone was calling me that. I never really got to wear it, so it's just been in this box since I don't feel like throwing it out."

Sonny looked at it and said, "You could wear it to the party tonight! I mean, we already have our stage names, and you're _Deadmau5_! It fits the name perfectly!" Joel put it on his pony head, and Sonny nodded approvingly.

On their way to the party, Sofi met up with them.

"Sonny! You didn't dress up!" She motioned to his usual self, as she had dressed herself in neon leggings with ripped jean shorts over them and a shiny silver jacket. She had more makeup on than anyone had ever seen her wear before.

"I dressed up as myself." Sonny smiled, and Sofi rolled her eyes. The party was at a pony named Zedd's house. He was in sixth grade, but Sonny nor Joel had paid much attention to him. They had exchanged 'hi's' in the hallway once or twice, but that was about it.

As they trotted through the door, it seemed as if every pony from their school was invited, including some high schoolers. Sofi ran off and mingled with some of her other friends, leaving Joel and Sonny in the dust.

"Well, this is going to be some night." Joel said, as people stared at the big red mouse head he was wearing. Sonny suggested they go find some food, and Joel obediently followed.

Three slices of pizza and a can of soda later, Joel saw a familiar face in the sea of students. He briskly trotted over to the figure and tapped him on the shoulder. The older pony turned, and smiled when he recognized Joel's face.

"Joel!?"

Joel rolled his eyes and laughed, "Hey, Tommy."

Sonny was irritated that Joel would just leave him like that, mainly since he didn't see any other fifth graders. He considered looking for Sofi, but knew that she would be gone with her group of friends by now, so he just stayed by the snack bar.

"Dude, we have to hang out sometime. I haven't gotten a chance to hang out with you since I graduated eighth grade!" Tommy joked, and Joel smiled. This night was going to be a bit better than he thought.

"I'm sorry to have to leave now, but I kind of abandoned Sonny by the snack bar." Joel half smiled.

"Oh, you mean that little unicorn with the long black hair? Well, I guess I'll see you around." Tommy turned back to his group of high school friends as Joel trotted back to Sonny, who was surprisingly still there.

"Where did you go?" Sonny asked Joel, who laughed.

"Just catching up with an old friend." Joel's ears perked up as a familiar song began to play, "No freaking way…"

Sofi's head turned from her group as she heard their song echo around the house. She heard her own voice sway the crowd. Sofi turned from her group and set out to find Joel and Sonny.

"Oh my god…it's our song!" Sonny jumped with excitement, but Joel put a hoof on his shoulder, keeping him from jumping again. Everyone seemed to be enjoying it, until someone turned to look at Joel and Sonny.

"Hey! It's the guys who made this song!" All the fillies and colts in the room turned and began questioning Joel and Sonny about the song. Sofi pushed her way though until the was standing next to Joel.

"Well, it's all thanks to Sofi, here, who volunteered to sing." Everyone tuned to Sofi, who blushed. They all said how amazing her voice was as the song continued to play.

Joel felt something. It was almost as if, this was what he was meant to do, to make music…to be Deadmau5! A wave of energy filtered through his veins, making him feel whole inside. He smiled, knowing what he had to do.

Sonny gasped, and Joel turned to him, "What is it?"

"Joel…" Sonny pointed to Joel's flank, "You're mark!" Joel turned and saw a light come and emit a glow for a second on his flank. When it disappeared, all that remained was an outline of the red mouse head. He smiled through the mouse head helmet he was wearing, and looked down at Sonny who was smiling too.

"I…I realized what my mark means too." Sonny said, "At first, I didn't get it, but now I do. Being 'Skrillex' is part of who I am, and that's what the 'ILL' stands for. It's the three middle letter that make up 'Skrillex'!"

Joel beamed at him and said, "Being 'Deadmau5' is part of who I am, and I guess that's why I got the mouse head for my mark. I want to continue to make music, because it feels like that's what I'm supposed to do." Joel and Sonny smiled at each other, then turned to Sofi, who was smiling as well.


	5. Chapter 5: Where We Are Now

_Seven Years Later…_

It had been seven years since "Raise Your Weapon" had been released. Sofi had graduated high school and was headed to college to study magic and music under Princess Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia in Canterlot. Joel decided to stay in New Canterlot with Sonny until he graduated high school, which was only a few months away.

In these several years, Joel had made a few songs with Sofi until they graduated, then they just lost touch when they parted ways. Sonny tried making new songs, but he never seemed to have enough time.

Joel was now a full-grown stallion. His wings had grown to above his head, allowing him to fly better and higher than before. Sonny was almost full-grown, but he was still on the smaller side of stallions. Maybe he was just short, or still had to grow more.

Just a few more months until Sonny graduated high school, then he could spend all his time making music. School was pretty much just a waste of time to Sonny now, but his mom made sure he wouldn't drop out early. His dad never comes back for more than a few days each month, now that he was working under Shining Armor for the army.

Sonny guessed that's the reason his mom has been so depressed lately. Ever since his dad got the new job she barely gets to see him, but Sonny tries to help her out as much as he can.

Joel moved out of his parent's home and got his own apartment, where he, Sonny, and Sofi all hung out until the day Sofi announced she was going to college…

_"I'm sorry to say this, guys…" She started, their eyes glued to her, "But…I'm leaving for college in a few days." _

_ "What?!"_

_ Joel jumped up and shouted, but sat back down when he saw how sad she was about leaving. Sonny just stared at her, wide-eyed behind his glasses, waiting for her response._

_ "I know…as much as I really don't want to go, I have no choice. The main college in Canterlot offered me two discount semesters for me to enhance my magic ability under Princess Twilight Sparkle and Celestia's training." She was shaking as she squeaked the words out, trying not to break down in tears._

_ "But, can't you enroll later in the year?" Sonny asked._

_ Sofi shook her head, "It's a one-time offer. If I wait any longer, the deal is off."_

_ Joel looked down at the floor and shook his head sadly, "When do you have to leave?"_

_ Sofi squeezed her eyes shut, and a tear rolled down, "Two days." It was hard to watch her silently cry about leaving her friends, especially since they had known each other since middle school. Sofi balanced things out between them, if it was just two colts everyone would think they were gay, but Sofi didn't let that happen since she was a filly._

_ "I'm sorry, Sofi." Sonny said, reaching out his hoof to pat her on the back, but she fell into his arms, her head pressed against his shoulder. Sofi broke down crying, saying how she didn't want to leave them and wasn't ready for college. Sonny just held her and comforted her until she stopped crying._

_ One other thing Sonny was good at was comforting ponies and making them feel better. He glanced at Joel to see him rolling his eyes and shaking his head disapprovingly. Sonny just smiled as he held her, until she was able to stand up without crying again._

_ Sofi sniffled and wiped her eyes with her hoof, "Th-thanks, Sonny." She weakly smiled, her brown eyes red from crying and eyeliner was smeared all over her cheeks, "You-you could've gotten a mark in caring for ponies instead of making music and being Skrillex." They both laughed about it for a minute, until Sonny realized that this might be the last time they would see Sofi for a long time, and a wave of sadness washed over him._

_ "No problem." He smiled back as she turned to leave. Joel was still just sitting there, but now looked at Sonny._

_ "Sorry guys, but I have to go." She trotted out of Joel's apartment and closed the door with her purple magic._

_ Joel looked at Sonny and raised an eyebrow. After a minute, Sonny looked over and said, "What?"_

_ "You like her, don't you Sonny?" Joel did an awkward smile, imitating an episode of Spongebob they had seen several years ago._

_ "Shut up, no I don't!" Sonny pushed Joel with his hoof then stood up, flicking his tail._

_ "What was that, then?" Joel just raised an eyebrow again, smiling._

_ "I was just trying to be a good friend, god." Sonny walked over to the window where he could see Sofi running down the street toward her house, "But…I am going to miss her…and I know you will too!" _

_ Joel sighed and nodded in defeat, knowing he didn't want to fight with Sonny right now, "Look at your arm!"_

_ "What about it?" Sonny asked, trying to look. On his shoulder was a stain of black makeup rubbed into his grey fur. He sighed, and used his magic to clean it off. Sofi had always seemed to be the strong one of their group, but Sonny guessed that leaving her friends was one of the hardest decisions to make, so he didn't blame her for breaking down like that._

Sonny sighed as he trotted out of his home and down the street. His mane had grown a lot, and now fell over his face and was impossible to brush through anymore, so he just let it fall since he never felt like cutting it. Sonny stopped once he got to the monorail station. It was a new addition to New Canterlot last year, and it made going to Joel's house a lot easier than walking. Ponies filed out from the monorail, and many more piled inside. Sonny pushed his way through and jumped on it the last second.

The monorail ride was only five minutes long, versus the half hour walk from his house to Joel's apartment. Sonny sighed and tried to shake the memories from his head. The monorail stopped, and Sonny hopped out, running along the street to get to Joel's house.

When he got there, he tapped his hoof on the wooden door until the familiar pegasus opened the door.

"So, what did you want to show me?" Sonny raised an eyebrow as he let himself in Joel's house.

"There's a new tattoo and piercing place in town! I think we should check it out." Joel smiled, "We should both get something today."

"I guess so…" Sonny had never really thought about getting piercings or a tattoo, but he was only in high school so maybe they wouldn't even give it to him, "Ok, let's go."

Joel almost began to fly away, but remembered Sonny didn't have wings and couldn't fly, "Dude, is there some spell thingy you can perform to give yourself wings?"

"I'm not sure. Why?"

"I dunno. I guess since I'm a pegasus and all, I've come more accustomed to flying than walking and all that crap, but whatever man." Joel tucked his large wings to his sides again as he landed next to Sonny.

Sonny thought about if there actually was a spell that could give an earth pony or unicorn wings, but wouldn't that make him an alicorn? He pushed the idea from his head as they neared the new shop.

Neon lights flickered from the words "New Canterlot Tattoo" above huge purple double doors. Sonny used his red magic to open the door, and they stepped inside the lightly lavender scented shop. Joel tapped a bell on the counter with his hoof, and the sound rang out throughout the empty store. Hoof steps were heard from a back room, then a mare with a long black mane stepped up behind the counter.

"Hey, guys." She said in her deep mare's voice, "What can I do for you?"

"We're just checking out the place." Joel replied.

She smiled, and said, "No problem. Let me know if I can help you. My name's Kat, by the way."

Joel smiled, "Joel, and this is Sonny." Sonny snapped back from zoning off into space and awkwardly waved. Kat has star tattoos running from under her left ear to the corner of her left eye, and disappearing under heavy eye makeup. Her forelegs and neck were covered in tattoos, and a few on her back. Kat's long hair was cut in layers and dyed jet black, and her bangs were braided down forward in front of her right ear in a thin line, keeping them out of her face.

"Nice to meet you. I'm so stoked about this new location for my shop!" She lifted a few boxes with hooves and lifted them on her back to carry them to the back of the room. Her mark was a half-colored, half-grayscale rose with a tattoo gun coloring it in. She unloaded the boxes while Sonny and Joel looked through tattoo magazines for what they want.

"Where was your shop previously?" Joel asked, stretching out his wings since he hadn't flown in awhile.

Kat walked back over to them, "Well, I first opened a shop in Manehattan, but I moved it to Canterlot for a change in scenery. Then, well…the guy I rented the place from in Canterlot kind of held a grudge against me, so he kicked me out. That dumb bastard." She rolled her brown eyes, "So I packed up my stuff and came here to New Canterlot."

Joel nodded and set down the magazine, "Can I get a tattoo?"

Kat walked behind the counter again, "Sure. Just a single tattoo or a sleeve?"

"I want four pixel hearts on my left arm." Joel waited for Kat's response.

"That's cool. Are you a gamer?" Kat sloppily wrote something down on a paper with the pen in her mouth, as all ponies besides unicorns do.

Joel nodded, "Yeah, I am."

Kat took the pen from her mouth and said, "Well, Joel, your tattoo will be one hundred fifty bits." He threw a sack of bits on the table and Kat counted them out.

"Is that enough?"

"Yeah, it's a hundred fifty even. Thanks!" She put the bits into the register and told Joel to sit down at the first table, "Will you be getting anything today?" She asked Sonny.

"I um…" He thought about it for a second, "I want snake bites."

Kat nodded, "Nice choice. Fifty bits, please." Sonny tossed his money on the counter and she put it in the register, "Wait over by your friend for me."

Joel sat down by the table as Kat trotted over to him and got her tattoo gun. She sterilized it and laid out a towel, "Is this your first tattoo?"

Joel blushed, "Yeah…it is."

Kat smiled, "You're gonna love it after you get it." She asked him to put his left foreleg on the table as she examined it. After sketching out a design, she held it up to his leg. He nodded and told her it would be perfect.

"Only fill in two and a half hearts instead of all four." He commanded and Kat nodded. She fired up the tattoo gun and began her work. Sonny watched as Joel was trying to stay expressionless, but it was obviously hurting. Joel gritted his teeth together as Kat finished outlining the hearts.

"Now we have to color them in." She said teasingly, knowing how painful it must be for him right now. Joel sighed as he braced himself for the next wave of pain.

After his tattoo was complete, Joel looked at Kat's hard work and said, "Wow…thanks Kat! It looks amazing."

"No problem." Kat smiled and cleaned up the table before turning to Sonny, "Ready, kid?" She motioned to a door on her right.

Sonny slowly walked inside and sat down in the single chair in the center of the room. Kat walked inside and grabbed a sterile wipe from the counter.

"I'm just gonna clean your lip first, then I'll pierce it." The cold wipe felt like an ice cube against Sonny's warm face. When she threw it in the trash can and grabbed a needle, his heart began to race.

"Just try to relax, ok?" Kat's smooth words flowed into his ear and made him a bit more relaxed. _She knows what she's doing…don't flinch…don't flinch…_he kept telling himself as Kat drew the needle closer to his face.

Beads of sweat began to form at his hairline as the tip of the needle barely poked his skin.

"Hold still, Sonny. This is gonna hurt a bit." She said as she poked the first hole under his lip. From outside the room, Joel heard Sonny wince in pain several times. After a few minutes, Sonny and Kat came out, and Sonny had two metal studs under his lip.

"They look nice." Joel said as they turned to leave, "Thanks again, Kat."

"Thanks Kat!" Sonny shouted as they walked toward the door.

"Come back anytime, guys." She waved, and then turned to unload more boxes.


	6. Chapter 6: Crossing Paths

After leaving Kat's shop, the two colts decided to head back to Joel's apartment. A cool breeze blew past them as they walked, making their tails swish as they walked. By the time they reached the apartment, it was cloudy and about to rain outside. Rain began to pour, soaking their manes just before they got inside.

Joel stepped through the door, tracking muddy hoof prints over the wooden floor. He gave his mane and wings a shake, spewing water everywhere but making himself completely dry. Turning to Sonny, Joel saw that Sonny had covered himself in a red aura of his magic. After a second, the color faded and he was left there, all dried.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Joel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's just a little trick Sofi taught me." Sonny said, stepping over the muddy tracks their hooves made to get to the kitchen, "Do you have any food?"

"Nope." Joel said and sat down on the couch, waiting for Sonny to finish searching for grub.

Sonny opened the fridge to find it empty. After searching a bit, he found a fresh pie in the back of Joel's cupboard, "_Liar_!" He yelled, levitating the pie out from the back and in front of his face. His mouth watered, and the pie looked so good. Just when he was about to take a bite, Joel smacked him in the back of the head, making the pie drop. Joel saved it with his left wing, and then held it protectively against his chest.

"Don't touch my pie!" Joel backed up, still grasping the delicious culinary masterpiece, "It's a zap apple pie, and you can only get it once a year, so I'm not sharing it!"

Sonny frowned, his stomach growling as he continued to stare at the rainbow apple pie. He remembered when he was colt he wanted so badly to try the famous Apple Family Zap Apple Pie, but never got a chance to.

"Please Joel." He started, trying to see if he could get Joel to spare some. Joel just shook his head and moved the pie further away as Sonny took a step forward.

"Just a slice, Joel. Just one slice!"

"It's mine!"

Joel balanced the pie on one wing, making sure it was out of Sonny's grasp.

"A bite? Please?"

Joel still continued to move the pie away, shaking his head. Suddenly, he slipped on the mud tracked into the house, but grabbed the pie just in time before it hit the ground. Sonny dashed forward and pushed him to the ground with his powerful front hooves. Joel let go of the pie and it flew into the air.

"My pie!" Joel shouted, watching the pie spin several times in the air, "Sonny you little prick!" He looked up to see Sonny standing above him, his hooves on Joel's chest, keeping him from grabbing the pie. At the last second, Sonny caught the pie with his telekinesis. The red glow formed around the almost-crushed pie.

Sonny tilted his head to the side a bit and did a half smile, showing that he was pleased with himself. _Wait…what the hell am I doing?! _Reality caught up in his mind and he realized what he was doing. He looked at Joel, and their eyes met for a second, but Sonny stepped off of him, breaking the connection that almost seemed to spark something in his mind.

Sonny used his telekinesis to bring the pie in front of Joel, "Here you go. I'm sorry I…don't know what came over me…" He wondered what that was he felt when their eyes met.

Joel stood up and took his pie from the red glow, "It's ok, bro." Sonny sighed and walked a few steps away, turning to see Joel eating bits of the pie but still holding it protectively to his chest.

Sonny walked over to the old couch in the middle of the apartment and flopped down, lying on his stomach with his hind legs tucked on each of his sides. After stowing the rest of the pie safely in the far corner of the kitchen, Joel sat down next to him.

"You know, dude, I kind of want to get a haircut." Sonny said, levitating a tuft of his black hair with his magic. Joel ignored him, and went through the TV channels.

"We should both get haircuts!" Sonny exclaimed, and Joel turned to him, shocked.

"What?! No." Joel frowned and refused to cut his hair.

"Whatever." Sonny said and got up, "I gotta get back home now." Joel slightly nodded, but acknowledged his departed. Suddenly, the door burst open and a familiar face ran inside.

"Sofi?! What are you doing back here? You're supposed to be in Canterlot." Sonny exclaimed, looking at a very hyper Sofi.

Purple fireworks exploded from her unicorn horn as she shouted, "I got kicked out!"

Both Joel and Sonny's jaws dropped, "What? How the hell did you do that?"

Sofi beamed as she said, "Well, I kind of said the spell I was learning wrong, which kind of brought evil demons into the Canterlot Castle and wrecked it, then Celestia and Twilight Sparkle had to come down and save the day, blah, blah, blah. Moral of the story is that they kicked me out because of 'property damage'."

Joel's hoof smacked against his face and Sonny snorted.

Sofi squinted at Sonny, "Hey, you got your lip pierced!" Then she turned to Joel, "And you got a tattoo. Wow, I've been gone for what, a week or so, and you already go and change."

Sonny felt a bit of guilt and said, "Well…I didn't think I changed that much, and I've always wanted…" But Sofi cut him off.

"Nah I'm just kidding. Those fit you well, Sonny. And the hearts was a good choice, Joel. I like it." She smiled and they smiled back, "What smells like Zap Apple Pie?"

Sonny snickered and Joel rolled his eyes and said, "Ugh, don't even ask." Sofi blew a tuft of her hair out of her eyes and walked over to the couch.

"Well, I have to go." Sonny began to walk toward the door, but Joel jumped up off the couch and flew over toward him, flying a couple inches off the ground, his wings flapping to keep him up.

"You know how you said you wanted a haircut?" Joel said, smiling.

"Dude! Stop flapping your damn wings in my face for a second! I can't see with feathers in my eyes!" Sonny pushed Joel down on the ground again.

Joel sighed and tucked his wings on his sides, "Whatever. As I was saying, you know what you should get for a haircut?"

"What?"

"I'll show you." Joel pushed Sonny into the bathroom and in front of the mirror. He parted Sonny's mane, then pulled back the left side of it so it looked like there was no hair there.

"Whoa…that actually would be really cool!" Sonny admired Joel's idea and said, "Can you cut it now?"

Joel shrugged, "I guess." He found some scissors and a razor in his drawers, then cut and shaved Sonny's head on the left side. Sonny's black mane fell to the floor in clumps, but when he looked up his mane looked better than it had ever looked before.

"Wow…it looks really good!" He turned his head so he could see his mane clearly, "Thanks!"

Joel just shrugged again, "It was just what I had in mind, I guess."

Sonny turned to him and said, "You know what you should do? Wear hats."

Joel became self-conscious and grabbed his short mane, "Why? Does my mane look terrible or something?"

"No!" Sonny scrambled for the right words, "That came out wrong. What I meant was that hats would look good on you."

"Oh." Joel relaxed and let go of his hair, "I get it."

"Ok, now I really have to go." Sonny trotted out of the bathroom and waved goodbye to Sofi on his way out the door, "My mom is going to shoot me from getting my lip pierced and a new haircut."

Joel laughed, "She'll warm up to it."

"I like your hair!" Sofi interrupter, and Sonny thanked her before he trotted down to the sidewalk, then galloped down the rainy roads to get to his house.


	7. Chapter 7: Darkness Covers Light

As rain poured down from the Cloudsdale-made clouds, Sonny trotted down to the monorail station. Pushing past several stallions, he jumped inside the noisy and crowded train.

New Canterlot's lights twinkled from the downtown high rises as the monorail whirred past them on its single rail. Sonny had been too busy with schoolwork and trying to keep tensions low at his home, he never really had time to look at the city he called home.

Just as he was deep into thought, the train came to a quick stop, throwing him off-balance and almost knocking over another pony.

"Watch it, colt!" The angry stallion called, stepping to avoid the almost-collision.

"Sorry!" Sonny called as he galloped out of the train. The streets were so busy, busses pouring down the roads. Sonny ran from the station and down the block, but just when he went to cross the road…

A blinding light met Sonny face-to-face.

Sounds of brakes being slammed on and a honking horn startled him. Sonny reared up on his hind legs as he saw the metal vehicle speeding toward him. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, Sonny took two strides to try and get out of the way, but he was a moment too late.

A sickening crunch of skin and bones colliding with metal rang throughout Sonny's ears. His right hind leg numb, he felt his side hit the cold, wet asphalt. Sonny's ears were ringing, and he soon saw a stallion standing above him, shaking his shoulder.

"What the _hell _were you thinking jumping into the road like that?!" The stallion said to Sonny, "Oh dear Celestia, somepony call for help! He's bleeding!"

Sonny tried to stay in consciousness, but soon his eyelids fell heavy and covered his eyes. All he could hear were the sound of sirens faintly in the distance as blackness came over him.

Laughter.

Sonny blinked his eyes twice as he stirred awake. Gazing around him, he could see only darkness. Someone's laughter was echoing from somewhere, and it seemed like such a familiar voice.

"Hello?" Sonny called, standing up. He looked down at his leg to see it was completely healed, "Is anybody there?"

His voice rang out, but there was no answer. Slowly, he began walking toward the laughter. Suddenly, he came upon a small sphere of light.

Cautiously, he walked up to it. The laughter was almost emitting from it. Sonny slowly reached out his hoof and tapped it. The light began to grow, and swirled around the sphere. Sonny backed up, and his jaw dropped when he saw what the light had become.

It was, him. The light had become a human version of Sonny. His black, half-shaved hair fell over his shoulders, which were covered by a black t-shirt. He wore dark skinny jeans and black _Converse. _

Sonny the pony walked toward this new version of himself.

"Who…are you?" The little grey unicorn pony asked, trying to understand what was going on.

The new version of him pointed behind the unicorn. Sonny turned, and saw Joel standing behind him.

"Joel? What is this?" Sonny asked him, but the pegasus just shook his light brown head, his dark brown mane falling over his face.

Sonny turned back to the human of him, and saw that a human version of Joel was standing behind him as well. Slowly, versions of Sofi and Kat appeared as well.

"Who are you all?!" Sonny called out, looking behind him to see the familiar pony faces of Sofi and Kat behind him. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw the human version of himself crouching to his height.

"Sonny…" The person said softly.

"Where am I? What is this place?" Sonny frantically spit out questions trying to get an answer.

"You don't need to worry."

"What's that supposed to fucking mean?" Sonny shouted, but the person Sonny just chuckled and shook his head.

"I'll see you soon, okay?" He said to the unicorn before standing up. The four humans began to walk away into the darkness.

"Wait! Don't go yet!" Sonny tried to run forward, but it felt as if his hooves were stuck in molasses, "I'm not done talking to you!" He struggled to move, but with every step him legs and body became heavier. Turning, he saw that the other ponies were gone as well.

"Don't leave me!" He called before falling face first into a dark abyss.

"Sonny! He's coming to!"

Sonny groaned as he strained to open his eyes. The light was too bright, so he put his hooves over his eyes.

Or so he thought.


	8. Chapter 8: Awakening

Ok I FINALLY got a chance to update again * Fluttershy yay*! Let's just see where this goes...

Opening his eyes of the first time, Sonny saw that his hooves were gone, and replaced by hands. His grey fur was now skin.

"What the…" Sonny turned his hands around to look at them, "What is this?!" He turned to the side to see a mirror next to the bedside. Grabbing it, he examined his face in horror.

"Oh my god!" He shouted, "What the _fuck_?!" He reached up and felt his head and forehead, "Where is my horn?!" His unicorn horn was gone and only hair and skin remained.

"Uh…are you okay?" A familiar voice came from the other side of the bed. Turning, he gasped.

"What the fuck?! _Joel?!_" His jaw dropped as he saw Joel sitting there, looking exactly like the other human version he had just seen in his dream. Reaching out, Sonny felt Joel's back.

"Dude! What the hell?!" Joel stood up so Sonny couldn't reach him.

"Joel what happened to your wings!?"

Joel's green eyes shifted as he thought of something to say, "Sonny…are you high?"

Only a slight wheeze escaped from Sonny's mouth. He looked out the window to see high rises outside in the daylight.

"Where are we?" He asked, still staring out the window.

"Los Angeles, Sonny! Where the hell do you think we are?" Joel asked, getting frustrated with Sonny.

"Wha…" Sonny's eyes widened as he turned back to Joel, "But…where's New Canterlot? I've never even heard of this 'Los Angeles' place!"

"Oh my god." Joel sighed as he sat down on the chair next to the bed, "You've just been watching a little too much My Little Pony lately, bro. It's screwing with your head."

"No it's not!" Sonny said, looking down to see a needle in his arm, bringing fluids to his veins, "What happened to me?"

Joel sighed, "You were walking home from my house, when suddenly you acted like a retard and ran across the road as a bus was coming. It hit you, and your right leg is broken in three spots. That could've killed you, you know."

"Wait…so you don't remember anything about us living in Equestria?"

"What? Sonny, that's a fictional TV show made for little girls. Equestria is not real."

Sonny frowned, "You have to remember something! Just before I got hit, we were both ponies living in New Canterlot. You got your cutie mark by becoming Deadmau5…"

Joel sighed again and turned to Sonny, "Dude, those ponies are screwing with your head. This was probably just some messed up dream you had while you were out from getting hit. Just take it easy, I'll be back later." Joel got up and walked out of the hospital room.

"I know I'm not crazy," he whispered to himself, as he drifted off into sleep.

"You've got to wake up! You've got to wake up!"

Sonny felt someone shaking him. When he opened his eyes, he saw his home in New Canterlot ablaze. His jaw dropped, he saw Sofi shaking him with her hooves.

Sonny stood up, and he was a unicorn pony again. Looking around, he saw ponies racing around trying to escape. In the sky, ash and dark clouds swirled, covering the blue sky. He squinted, and could almost see some sort of a "tear" in the sky, exposing darkness.

"Let's go!" Sofi pulled at Sonny's foreleg, but he winced when he tried to walk. Turning, he saw that his hind leg was still broken. Forcing through the pain, he awkwardly trotted behind Sofi.

"Where's Joel?" Sonny called, and saw Joel run up beside him, "What happened?"

"Nobody knows what's going on, but we have to get to Canterlot!" Joel called back to him.

"When did the fire start?" Sonny yelled as they moved out of the way to avoid a burning bench.

"I'll explain later! We have to find Kat and get to the monorail station!" Joel turned and ran a different direction, but Sonny stayed behind Sofi.

"What about my family?" Sonny called to Sofi.

"They're probably already in Canterlot! You'll find them there." She ran a little faster, and Sonny strained his legs to run faster, "We have to get to the station and wait for Joel and Kat there!"

The fire was spreading, catching onto anything that wasn't already burning. Joel kicked open the doors to Kat's shop to find her grabbing a small necklace.

"What are you doing? We have to leave now!" He yelled.

"I can't leave this behind! I don't care about anything else but this necklace in the shop!" She called as she slipped it over her head. She ran alongside him as they exited the shop and down the road.

Running down the ash-covered roads, they jumped over fallen trees or benches to get to the monorail station. Once there, they saw Sonny and Sofi waiting for them.

"Come on! We have to go!" Sofi called as they ran into the tram. As the doors closed, the monorail was sent speeding down and out of the city. Looking back, Joel and Sonny saw their home crumble under the flames.

"At least we're all safe." Kat said, shaking out her ash-filled mane. Sofi undid her bun to let her brown mane fall over her shoulders.

"Yeah." Sonny whispered, wondering if what he saw in the human world was even real.

"The trip to Canterlot will take a day, so we should try and get some sleep." Sofi said, as she exited the car to the left. Kat and Joel soon followed, leaving Sonny there to gather his thoughts.

_What the hell is happening to me…_he thought as the pain in his leg grew almost unbearable. Resting it on the seat across from him, he soon fell into a disorganized sleep-state.

Sorry for not updating in so long guys. I have been SO busy lately and the story completely slipped my mind. I hoe the plot isn't getting too complicated. I don't know if I'll be able to continue the story for very much longer, so I might just wrap everything up in a big chapter finale next time I update. Thanks everyone who sat down and read this long and drawn out thing! :D See ya guys later for my final update with the big conclusion


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